The Lionesses take on the Chinese team – Female Friendly Match
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the friendly match between England and the Chinese squad at London’s Wembley. An exciting encounter is anticipated with the European Championship holders taking on the holders of the Asian Cup title.
The home of English football is fully booked for the event, which will see Fran Kirby celebrated pre-match after her departure from the England squad before the Euro tournament this past summer.
Squad announcements will be revealed soon, but there was a recent squad update for England. On Friday, the goalkeeper Khiara Keating withdrew from the squad with a minor injury, and so previous starter Ellie Roebuck has been summoned.
With Hannah Hampton out of action, it will be interesting to see who head coach Sarina Wiegman selects in goal. Those details along with further updates are incoming before the start of the match at 5.30pm GMT.
Team News
The lineups have been announced. Anna Moorhouse is the starting keeper for England in the absence of Hannah Hampton and Khiara Keating.
England's starting eleven: Moorhouse, Bronze, Charles, Walsh, Le Tissier, Morgan, Mead, Stanway, Russo, Toone, Hemp.
Substitutes: Hings, Baggaley, Kendall, Wubben-Moy, Beever-Jones, Kelly, Kearns, Park, Blindkilde Brown, Roebuck, Clinton, Denton, Fisk, Godfrey.
We are awaiting the squad from China now; as soon as I have it, I will share it.
Leadership Role
Keira Walsh is leading the Lionesses with Leah Williamson still injured. She shared these thoughts before this encounter:
Walsh assumes captaincy as England confront new hurdle in meeting of continental winners.
Debut Alert
Tonight’s game will be Anna Moorhouse's maiden cap for England. She belonged to the European Championship squad who triumphed this past summer, but she did not play any minutes with Hannah Hampton in the first-choice keeper position.
Previous Match Recap
The first leg of the Women’s Nations League title decider was held yesterday; catch up with all of the events:
Women’s Nations League: Spain’s Cata Coll stops Germany, leaving final outcome open.
Real-Time Coverage
Real-time coverage from the game will continue with major incidents and current information as the match proceeds.
